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When something is wrong at work
For people working in the United States who were not paid right, whose workplace is not safe, who were hurt on the job, who are harassed or treated differently, who were punished or fired after speaking up, or who are afraid to say anything at all, and for the people beside them. What to write down. Which office takes which problem, its phone number, and how long you have. What the agencies say about cost, privacy and immigration status. Take only what you need today.
Right now
- Someone is hurt, or in danger right now? Call 911.
- Dangerous work? OSHA’s contact page says that in an emergency, or to report unsafe working conditions, call 1-800-321-6742.
- Punished for reporting a hazard? OSHA says you can file a whistleblower complaint within 30 days of the retaliation. That is the shortest clock on this page.
- Not paid? The Wage and Hour Division: 1-866-487-9243. Its words: all services are free and confidential, whether you are documented or not.
- Harassed, or treated differently? The EEOC: 1-800-669-4000. It says there are strict time limits, in general 180 calendar days.
- Thinking about ending your life? Call or text 988, at any hour.
More help
- To keep a record of every call and paper: Paper trail and Dates to keep.
- Before you dial: Call script: know what you will say before you dial.
- If you lost the job: When you lose your job.
- If you need a change at work because of a disability: Work accommodations.
- If your health keeps you from working: Disability benefits.
- A lawyer you can afford: When you need a lawyer and can’t pay.
- If someone is forcing you to work: If someone is forcing you to work or to sell sex.
- If you were assaulted: After sexual assault.
- Looking for work with a record: Fair chance.
- When there isn’t enough: When the money runs out.
- The heavy days: Worry time and Can’t sleep?
- All our free tools and Get help now.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- When you need a doctor and can’t pay: your rights in an emergency room, health centers that charge by income, and how to get Medicaid or other coverage.
- Is this a scam?: a red-flag checklist, what to do in the next five minutes, and the steps if you already paid or gave your information.
- If someone is stalking you: someone who follows, watches, tracks or will not stop contacting you: what to do first, the record to keep, and who to call.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No lawyer has reviewed it, and it was not written by someone this has happened to: an AI has never worked a shift, been shorted on a paycheck or been afraid of a boss, and cannot know what that is. The facts come from pages read on October 6, 2026. From the U.S. Department of Labor: the front of worker.gov; the Wage and Hour Division’s How to File a Complaint, Information You Need to File a Complaint, its questions and answers for workers, Workers Owed Wages, Minimum Wage, Overtime Pay, the first paragraph of its misclassification page, Retaliation, the Family and Medical Leave Act page (last updated January 26, 2026), Pump at Work (revised January 2026), its list of state labor offices, the Last Paycheck page, and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs’ list of state officials. From OSHA: Worker Rights and Protections, File a Complaint, Contact Us and the front of its whistleblower complaint page. From the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination, Time Limits for Filing a Charge, Retaliation, Harassment (which carries a notice that it is being reviewed and will be revised) and Contact EEOC. From the National Labor Relations Board: Employee Rights and Contact Us. From the U.S. Department of Justice: the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section’s page. From USAGov: Labor laws and worker protection, Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, Workers’ compensation (March 21, 2025), Minimum wage (April 1, 2025) and Wrongful termination (July 27, 2026). The page says whose words it is passing on, and what is marked “ours” is our own suggestion and not from any agency. What we did not read: any state’s minimum wage, final-pay rule, workers’ compensation deadline or leave law; who is eligible for family and medical leave; the test for who is an employee and who is a contractor; OSHA’s conditions for refusing dangerous work; the National Labor Relations Board’s time limit; the laws themselves; and anything about how any agency shares information with immigration authorities. Rules for federal employees, farm work, domestic work and work on federal contracts differ, and are not covered here. We did not call any of these numbers. Nothing on this page is stored on your device or sent anywhere, and the page loads no analytics (privacy). Your browser will still remember that you visited, as it does for any page; a private window does not. If you are reading this on a phone or computer your employer owns, your employer may be able to see that. It was checked by programs, not yet used by people. Scarlet Beast is not a law office, a union or a government agency, and takes no money from anyone named here. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].